Passport Renewal
A Canadian passport is issued to Canadian citizens only. It is not an immigration document and it is not something a consultant applies for on your behalf — this page is here because the question comes up, and because the difference between renewing and applying afresh saves people a good deal of trouble.
Renewal is the short route, and not everyone qualifies for it
The simplified renewal exists so that an adult who has held a Canadian passport recently does not have to prove who they are all over again. No guarantor, no references, no citizenship certificate — your previous passport does that work.
You can normally renew if your most recent adult passport was issued for five or ten years, was issued within the past fifteen years, is not damaged, and has not been reported lost or stolen. If any of those is untrue, you are making a general application instead, with everything that involves.
A child's passport is never a renewal
Children's passports are issued for a maximum of five years and cannot be renewed. Every child's passport is a new application, with proof of citizenship and parental consent each time. Parents who renewed their own passport in twenty minutes online are regularly caught out by this.
Time it around your travel, not your expiry
Many countries require a passport valid for six months beyond your date of entry, and some airlines enforce it at check-in. A passport that expires in four months is, in practice, already expired for a lot of destinations. Renew against your travel plans rather than against the date printed inside.
If you have changed your name, your passport should match the name on your ticket and on your other identity documents. That is a renewal with supporting documents rather than a straightforward one.
Where Skylam comes in
Not with the passport itself — that is a Government of Canada service you deal with directly, and anybody charging you a professional fee to fill in the form is charging you for typing. Where we are useful is a step earlier: if you need a citizenship certificate to prove citizenship in the first place, or if your citizenship itself is the open question.
Requirements
Who qualifies
You can normally use the simplified renewal if all of these are true.
- You are 16 or older.
- Your most recent Canadian passport was issued for five or ten years.
- It was issued within the last fifteen years.
- It is not damaged, and has not been reported lost or stolen.
- It was issued in your current name, or you can document the change.
What a renewal asks for
- The renewal form.
- Your most recent passport.
- Two identical photographs meeting the passport specification — the most common reason an application is returned.
- The fee.
- Documents for a name change, if your name differs from the one in the passport.
What renewal skips
No guarantor, no references, and no proof of citizenship. That is the entire advantage, and it is why checking whether you qualify is worth doing before you start.
If you do not qualify
Make a general application instead. A damaged passport, one issued more than fifteen years ago, a passport reported lost, or a child's passport all go that route.
Fees and processing times are set by the Government of Canada and change — check the official page before paying, and allow for the possibility of a longer wait in the spring and summer.
Requirements change without notice. Check IRCC’s own page
Every case turns on its own facts. Book a consultation and a licensed consultant will tell you where you stand on Passport Renewal.
Book a ConsultationLast updated 22 September 2026
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